


History

by thesaddestboner



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Character Study, Family, Gen, Oakland Athletics, Plotless, Trades, mention of family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-05-31
Updated: 2008-05-31
Packaged: 2017-11-26 21:07:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/654427
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesaddestboner/pseuds/thesaddestboner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Jason Kendall gets traded.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	History

**Author's Note:**

> This was intended to be a tag for a baseball RPG I used to be involved in, but it could hold its own as a standalone ficlet, I suppose. Kind of turned into a mini-character piece on Kendall, actually. In the RPG, both Beane and Kendall were kind of dicks, so.
> 
> You can find me on [twitter](http://twitter.com/thesaddestboner) and [tumblr](http://saddestboner.tumblr.com).

“You can’t do this.”

Billy looked up from a pile of papers on his desk into the blazing, utterly furious eyes and set jaw of Jason Kendall. Billy put the papers aside and straightened up in his chair. 

“You can’t _do_ this,” Kendall repeated, shutting the door behind him. He pulled up a seat at Billy’s desk and sat down without so much as an invitation.

Billy pulled a chewed up nub of pencil from behind his ear and scribbled something on one of the papers before tucking them into a manila folder and setting it aside. “What can I do for you, Jason?” he asked, evenly.

“I just heard that you’re going to trade me,” Kendall said, digging his fingernails into the armrests. He flicked his eyes to a poster behind Billy, one of those kittens-hanging-from-a-hammock scenes. **It’s easier to get into trouble than out of it** , the poster announced in bright purple letters. Kendall sat back but didn’t relax, every muscle in his body pulled tight, like he was anticipating a runner charging in from third base.

Billy offered Kendall a smile, but Kendall could see behind his eyes. There was something else there, something keen and sharp. Something that couldn’t be completely trusted. Billy set the pencil down over the folder and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Fucking hell,” he muttered, dropping his hand into his lap. He looked up at Kendall and offered him a tight, unfriendly smile. “Word spreads fast, doesn’t it?”

“Like wildfire,” Kendall replied. He unclenched his fists in the armrests. “Urban told me.”

Billy was silent for a long time, regarding Kendall with his familiar inscrutable gaze. Finally, he spoke. “You know very well why we had to make this deal.”

“Because you’re an asshole?” Kendall grated out.

Billy chuckled. “That too,” he said, eyes sparking.

Kendall sighed and scuffed his heel on the carpet. The carpet, like the team’s colors, was Kelly green and yellow, colors twisted into an interlocking pattern coiled like snakes. “Urban told me what you’re asking for,” Kendall said, dully. “It’s an insult.”

“It’s the most we could get,” Billy countered, with a knowing smirk, very much aware that the words would cut.

Kendall bristled, but held back his vitriol. “Of course.”

Billy opened his mouth to respond, but the cordless phone on his desk began to ring. He checked the Caller ID and offered Kendall a not-quite-apologetic smile. “I have to take this.” He picked up. “Hello, Billy speaking.” He held his hand to the receiver and huddled the phone to his ear.

Kendall sat back and rested his hands in his lap, trying hard not to eavesdrop on Billy’s hushed conversation. He assumed it was about him, the impending trade with Chicago, thought he heard Billy say something about “Bowen, I’m not making this fucking deal without Bowen.” Kendall sighed, scuffed his heel at the coiled Kelly green and yellow snake pattern and tried his best to ignore Billy’s phone call.

He thought about Chantal and the kids, how much they all enjoyed it here in the Bay. She’d liked Pittsburgh, hard-nosed steeling town that it was, because it reminded her of him, the way he played, no holds barred, balls to the wall. “Pittsburgh _is_ you, baby,” she’d said, when he signed that deal – the deal that would ultimately punch him a ticket to the fucking Cubs. The trade to Oakland had jarred her, and he had figured it would take Chantal and the kids a while to get used to their new surroundings.

He hadn’t expected to adjust to Oakland so easily, laid-back northern California and its mild weather. It wasn’t like San Francisco, with its Gay Pride parades, and its reputation for permissiveness. There weren’t any Bondsian distractions either. Oakland was a good place for Kendall, and a good place for his family.

“Jason.”

Kendall looked up. Billy’s forehead was creased, and he wore the look of an irritated pitbull, pissed off at getting poked in the snout one too many times. “Yeah?”

“That was Hendry. Just have to get approval from the league and then the deal’s official.” Billy smiled then, a smug, self-satisfied grin, and Kendall had to clench his teeth, had to do everything in his power to keep from lashing out at Billy, to keep from knocking the smile off his fucking face.

“Oh,” Kendall said, tone suitably dull. He stood up stiffly and Billy eyed him like he was waiting for Kendall to thrust out his hand, give him a goodbye handshake and thank him for the memories.

Kendall turned his back and walked away.

**Author's Note:**

> The author of this piece intends no insult, slander, or copyright infringement, and is not profiting from this work. This story is a complete work of fiction and does not necessarily reflect on the nature of the individuals featured. This is for entertainment purposes only. If you found this story while Googling your name or the names of your friends, hit the back button now.


End file.
